E 45 · Finale Race⏱ 1h11

The 70-minute endurance final at MKRACING in Saint-Christophe-du-Bois (815 m circuit) took place on 17 July 2026, bringing together 15 teams for a demanding race decided as much by strategy and consistency as by outright pace.

LOTUS (kart #9) claimed victory after 79 laps, finishing one lap ahead of a chasing pack. The win was far from straightforward: LOTUS made 6 pit stops — one more than most of their rivals — yet converted the best pure pace on track into a clear result. Their median lap time of 47.641 s was the fastest of the field, and their overall consistency figure of 1.22 s standard deviation reflected a well-managed race from start to finish. Their fifth stint, 16 laps with a median of 46.858 s and the team's personal best of 46.235 s, was their most aggressive and most efficient of the race, with a standard deviation of just 0.69 s — their tightest stretch of the afternoon.

MERCEDES (kart #6) finished second, 9.843 s behind at the flag after 80 laps. They set the fastest lap of the entire race — 46.009 s — and held the second-best pure pace median (47.870 s). Their second stint, 17 laps at a median of 46.546 s with a tight deviation of 0.58 s, stands as one of the most controlled efforts of the race. With only 5 pit stops, their time-in-pit balance worked in their favour over 80 tours, yet it was not enough to close down LOTUS.

CITROËN (kart #16) completed the podium, also on 80 laps, 34.036 s off the lead. Despite holding only the 4th-best pure rhythm (47.912 s median), consistent management across six stints allowed them to beat faster rivals on the road. Their 3rd and 5th stints — both with a median under 47.2 s — were key to holding their position.

TOYOTA (4th) and AUDI (5th) both completed 79 laps. Notably, AUDI's median pace of 48.533 s placed them only 11th in pure rhythm, yet their race management delivered a 5th-place finish — the clearest example of strategic overperformance on the day.

BMW (kart #12, 7th) deserves a special mention: with a median of 47.900 s (3rd-best rhythm) and the most consistent race of the field (standard deviation of just 0.85 s across all laps), they had the tools to challenge the podium. However, a degradation of 0.20 s/lap in their final stint cost them positions in the closing stages, and their 78 laps left them behind teams with a better stop-and-pace balance.

At the opposite end, HONDA (14th) posted the 5th-best pure rhythm according to the analysis, a gap that points to significant time lost either in pit stops or traffic rather than any lack of outright speed. ASTON MARTIN (15th) completed only 58 laps, finishing four laps down on the leaders.

Key takeaways for teams: This final at MKRACING confirmed that raw speed is a necessary but insufficient condition for victory. LOTUS combined the best pure rhythm with an extra stop — and still won comfortably, suggesting their additional pit visit was planned and efficient. BMW's case illustrates that even superior consistency cannot compensate for late-race degradation if stop strategy is not optimised. AUDI's result shows that a solid pace management plan can more than offset a mid-field raw pace. And HONDA's gap between rhythm ranking (5th) and finishing position (14th) is the most striking strategic lesson of the race.